CHENNAI: Give them any number of digits to add, multiply or divide, and in no time at all the seven- to nine-year-old school students from Ramanathapuram come out with the solution.
Sixteen students of the Panchayat Union Primary School of Subbudevan Valasai village in the district were here on Thursday, along with their headmaster M. Kalimuthan, on invitation from the School Education Department.
They were participating in a programme to showcase their skills, built through an innovative teaching methodology, in front of an audience comprising several teachers and officials of the department.
The hall in the DPI complex reverberated with applause as they gave almost instant answers.
The students used no paper, pencils or even their fingers to solve the row after row of mathematical problems, including fractions. Captivating the audience
One of the students, Jagadeeswaran, captivated the audience by giving the answers even before the headmaster could finish writing the problems on the blackboard.
Chitra, who could not even reach up to the blackboard, solved math problems that other senior students would take long to answer.
Mr. Kalimuthan, winner of the State Government’s Best Teacher Award in 2006, said: “I identified their [students] thirst for learning last year when I joined the school ... there is no limit to their capabilities.”
He taught the 60-odd students in the school through non-conventional and simple methods to increase their learning capacity. “When properly groomed students could grow into intelligent adults,” Mr. Kalimuthan said.
Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan project director M.P. Vijayakumar said the enormous learning capability of the children was spotted during a recent visit by his team to the school.
Teachers must match their talent and communication skills with such learning interests of children and focus on building self-confidence in them. Training
The Block Resource Teacher Educators from all the districts would undergo a two-day training in the innovative teaching methods evolved by Mr. Kalimuthan. and in turn educate teachers across the State.
School Education Minister Thangam Thennarasu visited the training session on Thursday.
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